I am an artist, and I have been trying for a solid year to get my artwork from my hands, into the homes of customers. I am desperately struggling to photograph, upload, edit, size, print, and sell my artwork and I am still fighting with the image size being too small, resolution being too medium, fuzzy image. I have customers who want my product and I am letting them down daily because I dont understand the coding and the terms. Why cant i just take a picture of my original work, upload it to shopify, and let people print it on whatever they want it on?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? And why is it so hard to find HELP!? How does everyone else do it so effortlessly. Should I be taking classes on website management or photography or printing or WHAT? someone please help
I have hired and fired two people who swore up and down they knew how to make a website work. I can’t afford to hire an expert. I do not have equipment such as camera, scanner, huge printer to make products myself. I have a very small laptop and an outdated android phone to do business with and its costing me way more than its making me which is $0 a year. Everything has turned digital and im not a digital artist. I have two garages packed full of handpainted inventory of all shapes and sizes, and i have a customer base that is demanding product. WHAT DO I DO
Maybe you can look at this Print on Demand: A Low-Risk Way To Sell 2022 (Video Inside) (shopify.com)
Hi @doodledandy ,
I am so sorry to hear that you’ve been having such a challenging time with this. I have my own small business in the art/print industry and I’ll do my best to guide you in the right direction here.
What I am gathering, is that you have hand-painted inventory that you’d like to be able to upload and make into prints/products to sell online? Can you tell me a little bit more about your art and your customers? What app or integration are you currently trying to utilize? I’d love to learn more about your artistry in general and some of your specific goals for selling your art.
Typically, the best way to get an accurate replication of an existing work of art is to scan it. You mentioned not having a scanner which is okay, as photographing the imagery is doable. However, if you have access to a scanner within your community (library, art centre, fellow artist), that would be ideal. It would be worthwhile to invest in your own scanner, even just a simple second-hand one so you can achieve the highest file quality.
I totally understand that the digital learning curve is a big one and can feel very overwhelming! Something else to consider would be to make some connections in your community. Offer a piece of art to a photographer in exchange for their professional assistance. You’d be surprised at how many folks love to exchange goods/services to support their communities and small businesses. Collaborating in this way can help bridge that digital knowledge gap and get you the results you need in order to produce a quality digital file to work with.
For now, please take some time to review our guide on How to Sell Art Online. This is a comprehensive guide that walks you through the full process from formatting, Print-on-Demand (which is what I believe you’re going for), how to photograph and scan your work and building your brand.
You mentioned struggling with the image sizing. Printful is one of our top Print-On-Demand integrations and offers this guide on Preparing the Perfect File.
As far as classes, they can certainly be helpful, but with such a vast knowledge bank available to you for free (Youtube tutorials, blogs, online guides), you can feel confident with the resources already at your fingertips.
Check out Shopify’s DIY Guide to the Perfect Product Photography Setup. Even with a smartphone as your only means of photographing, trust me when I say the key to a crisp, clear picture is almost always in the lighting. The DIY guide above covers everything from your set-up, how to use and optimize light and enhancing and sizing your images.
On that same page you’ll find a link to a free, comprehensive video guide that you can have sent right to your email inbox!
I don’t want to overload you with information so let’s start with the above and go from there. I’ll look forward to hearing back about your art and vision for your prints as that will help me fine-tune any additional information and guidance I have.
Please don’t hesitate to ask for clarification or if you have more questions. I’m here to help you!